Scanning devices are useful in many applications where it is desirable to transfer an image from printed form into electronic form. Scanners capable of reading and converting a page into electronic format have been available for quite some time. Typically, a scanner will electronically read a page and electronically store the information for later presentation and use.
After scanning, the electronic version of the scanned document is typically saved onto a computer disk using a filename. Typically the filename is queried from the user, requiring interaction between the user and the scanner software. Alternatively, and to avoid querying the user, a standard filename having a unique number for each scanned document might be used. For example, the scanner software might assign the filename “scan1.jpg” to the first scanned document and the filename “scan2.jpg” to the next scanned document, and so on. Another manner in which filenames have been assigned to scanned documents is to query the user as to how the document is to be processed. For example, as a Word (.doc) document, as a bitmap in JPEG (.jpg) format, or as a text document in plain text (.txt). Still another manner in which a filename may be assigned is to use a standard “File Save As” dialog box.
Unfortunately, all the existing methods for assigning a filename to a scanned document require either interaction between the user and the software, or will assign a filename that is non-descriptive of the content of the scanned image.
Therefore, a need exists for an automatic filename assignation system in which a filename that is descriptive of the scanned image is automatically created and applied to the document with little or no interaction from the user.